Just How Much
by bubblemilktea
Summary: TifaxVincent Takes place during the scene in Advent Children after Cloud walks out on Tifa. She's in her room and Vincent comes to bring Marlene home. A sort of what if Onceshot Please Read and Review


Hey guys, this is my first one-shot in a while.

Funny how I thought of this after watching Advent Children, but it might not match up exactly with the movie, so please forgive me.

I wrote this while I was in Korea at a semi-Buddhist temple. I guess I felt inspired. Everything was so serene, so this fic is rather soft and calm. Rather cliché, but I hope you enjoy Please Read and Review

_Just how much_

She looked up expecting to find Reno. Instead, she found herself gasping quietly in surprise as Vincent Valentine walked through the door.

"Vincent?" she asked, unsure. It seemed surreal that after two years of nothing he would appear before her during her moment of solitude.

He paused not far from the door and leaned against the wall. "Cloud asked me to bring Marlene," he replied calmly, quietly observing her.

It was obvious she was in despair. Her ruby depths displayed her sorrow openly. She looked defeated, lost, like a child, no, a young woman hopelessly in love.

He hated seeing her like this. The vitality had been sucked out of her. How could Cloud do this to her? He wished it were the old Tifa standing before him, the youth that had pulled Cloud through his journey, a link to his past, a promise of the future.

"Where is she?" Tifa finally asked getting up. The moonlight shone on her dark hair.

"She's asleep. I left her in Reno and Rude's care," Vincent replied failing to move towards her. He stood grounded in his spot where he could observe all.

"You left her in Reno's care?" Tifa asked raising an eyebrow. The members of Avalanche loved to tease the semi-former Turks despite their truce and respect for one another. It was their on-going game.

"While he may be lacking in other capabilities, I'm sure Reno is perfectly capable of watching a sleeping child," Vincent replied from his spot by the door.

She looked at him startled. Vincent just made a joke. It somehow lightened her mood and she giggled.

Vincent gazed at her from his spot and hid a small smile behind his cape. Her smile and laughter rejuvenated him. How could Cloud not see this beacon of light in front of him?

Her laughter died out and that sadness entered her eyes once more. He sighed and made his way over to her. Startling her out of her thoughts, he grabbed her arm. She turned to him in question and their eyes met.

"Tifa…"

"I'm fine Vincent," she replied quietly, slipping gently out of his grasp. "Cloud and I, we're doing better than before now that we have Marlene and Denzel." She sent him a weak smile.

He looked at her. "Yet, he still searches for a ghost."

Her smile faltered and she looked down. "I can't force him to forget the past."

"But you should not suffer as a result of his uncertainty," Vincent replied.

Her world froze as Vincent Valentine said those words. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. She could only look as Vincent moved away from her. He stood with his back towards her and his hand reaching for the door.

Finally her voice found her.

"Vincent?"

His hand paused on the doorknob as he turned to nod slightly over his shoulder: a signal that she had his attention.

"I love Cloud, but, I realize that he'll never forget her," her laugh sounded bitter. "Sometimes I think, had I died perhaps he would have searched for me like he does now for her…for Aeris…"

He turned towards her and saw the silent trail of tears which ran down her face. His hand reached out for her until his mind got the better of him. His hand fell and he could only watch in silence and she suffered from a one-sided love.

Together they were, one standing, on sitting, silence between them as it began to rain quietly outside.

"Love, is a complicated thing. Over the ages, many have tried to map out its nature, only to fail and fall victims to it themselves. Don't ever release your love Tifa. Someday, Cloud will know just how much you love him," he replied. _And perhaps, just how much I love you_.

Before another word could be said, the door was silently opened and closed and like the wind, Vincent Valentine walked out of Tifa Lockheart's life once more…

Please Review--


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